I don't know how you managed to pull misogynist tones out of this--author merely pointed out that, to increase patronage, bar owners moved towards more open and

I don't know how you managed to pull misogynist tones out of this--author merely pointed out that, to increase patronage, bar owners moved towards more open and public spaces. It's just what the market wanted. Some of us like sweetness, and there's no reason a sweet cocktail should be inherently less skill-based than a sour one. So, again, you're missing the point: strong mixers (sweet or sour!) cover up bad ingredients and also cover up bartenders being incompetent. It's not a choice between sweet, sour, and whatever else in a good mixed drink; it's a bartender knowing how the flavors fit together in the drink, and knowing how the flavors vary across brands and years of theoretically the same ingredient. For example, there are several different manufacturers and brands of gin, and what works well in a gin and tonic may fail to test nearly as good in a proper martini. It's more economical and requires vastly less skill to dump vodka or well tequila into a sour-mix and thrown in some cubes and give to a patron, than it is to pick the right tequila off a bar, pair with the right liquors, and add just a slight amount of mixer for flavor, and then serve.